Philippines to start royalty collection

 

The Philippines will set up a new Bureau of Copyright in early 2014 under the new Republic Act 10372, which amended RA 8293 a.k.a the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines. The function of the Bureau of Copyright will be to manage collective management organizations (CMOs) that collect royalty fees from those who use copyright works, for example music public performance.

 

There are several CMOs already operating in the music space. The Filipino Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers collects royalty fees for music composers. The Performing Rights Society of the Philippines will under the new law be able to collecting performance royalties for singers and performers.  But poor public awareness means that few commercial establishments pay and so the new Copyright Bureau will have to help raise awareness too. WIPO will send a team to assist building the copyright systems early in 2014.